Fingeb- abhor



N. C. FLEMING.

FINGER ARMOR. APPLICATION msn' 020.21. 1918.

1,316,292. PatentedSept,16,1919.

1 7 WITNESS: (Chg: xuvgwizlrims Mvfi ATTORNEY.

THE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH cm. WASHINQMN. D- C.

NATHANIEL CARR FLEMING, OF COLDWA'IER, KANSAS.

FINGER-ARMOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Patented Sept. 16,1919.

Application filed December 21, 1918. Serial No. 267,782.

To all whom 2'25 may concern:

Be it known that I, NATHANIEL CARR FLEMING, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Goldwater, in the county of Comanche and State ofKansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inFinger-Armor; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to shields or armor for fingers, andappertains more especially to such devices for useon the forefinger andthumb of a hand for protecting them from being bruised or injured whendriving nails, the armor being designed to protect the finger and thumb,leaving them sufiiciently exposed for holding the nail and causing thehammer to glance off should it miss the nail and strike the armor.

This invention is an improvement of the finger armor disclosed in myPatent $11,268,103, granted June 4, 1918, and the improvements relatemore particularly to the construction of the finger stall, whereby it ismore racticable and efficient in use, the thumb sta also being improvedas over the said patented device, to enhance the utility of the armor.

A further object is the improvement of the armor, whereby the finger andthumbstalls will be of increased efiiciency, and of such form that theywill maintain themselves in place without retaining straps or means, ifpreferred.

It is also the object to provide such a device which is simple inconstruction, easy and chea to manufacture, and thoroughly practicab ein use.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will be apparent asthe description proceeds, the invention resides in the construction andarrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed, it beingunderstood that changes can be made within the scope of what is claimedWithout departing from the spirit of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure1 is an elevation showing the armor applied to the hand. v

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the forefinger stall.

Fig. 3 is a bottom View of the forefinger stall.

The forefinger stall 1 of the armor is stamped and formed by means ofsuitable dies from a blank of suitable metal, although it can bemanufactured in difierent ways. This finger stall embodies a band 2 toembrace the second phalange of the forefinger, and is of a length toextend between the first and second knuckles, the edges of the metalfrom which the stall is bent meeting and abutting at the bottom or lowersurface of the band 2, as seen in Fig. 3. The stall l is provided withan extension 4, projecting from the outer end of the band 2 and ofarcuate cross section, the basal portion of the extension 4 merging intothe top and sides of the band, and the extension 4 decreases in sizefrom the band to the outer end of the extension. The tops or uppersurfaces of the band 2 and extension 4, are arranged at an obtuse anglewith one another, forming the bend 5 that fits over the first knuckle ofthe finger, so that the stall will acconr' noted that the band 2 snuglyembraces the,

second phalange. The outer end of the extension 4 is curved downwardlyor forwardly so as to extend across the finger nail and tip of thefinger for protecting same,- and the outer end of the bottom or frontportion of the band 2 is curved toward the top or back of the stall, asat-7, to enter the fold of the first finger joint, so that the back ofthe jointin fitting within the angle 5, and the lip or inturned portion7 in fitting in the fold or angle between the first and secondphalanges, will serve to retain the stall on the finger unassisted byspecial retaining means, such as shown in Fig. 1. The finger stall canthus be used by itself when desired, and will maintain itselfcomfortably in position on the finger unless pulled off by the otherhand.

The extension 4 is of arched form, pro viding an opening 8 which is of asize the full width and length of the face of the first phalange, so asto expose same for holding the nail or other member to be driven. Thisalso enables. the first phalange to be swung out of the stall whendesired, because the opening 8 permits this, and the band 2 serves tohold the extension 4 in place. Then, when the finger is straightened outor pressure applied to the first phalange, it will be pressed snuglyinto the stall against the extension 4. In this Way, the stall is moreconvenient in use and permits of the use of the forefinger to a greaterextent than if the stall completely surrounded the first phalange.

The thumb stall is of somewhat similar constmiction but is of shorterlength so as to be co-extensive with the first phalange of the thumb,the thumb stall having the band 9 atits inner end to embrace the firstphalange adjacent to the first knuckle. An arcuate extension 10 similarto the exten' sion at, covers the thumb nail and surround ing portion ofthe thumb, the outer end 11 of the extension extending across the end ofthe thumb and its nail, and there being an opening 12 exposing the faceor fleshy part of the thumb, in order that the nail being driven can begripped and held between the thumb and forefinger. This thumb stall aswell as the finger stall is made of metal and is of suflicient thicknessto withstand the blows of the hammer, and also curved so as to deflectthe hammer to one side without injuring the thumb or finger.

Retaining means for the stalls can be used, somewhat similar to theretaining means disclosed in said patent, and when this is desired, aband 13 of leather or other suitable material is provided inwardly ofthe thumb stall to fit on the second phalange of the thumb, and a wristband 1% provided to embrace the arm at the wrist. A strap 15 anchored tothe wrist band 14:, is riveted or otherwise secured as at 16 and 17 tothe bands 13 and 9, and the rivet 17 will be located at the inner end ofthe thumb stall out of the way, so as not to interfere with the use ofthe armor or to be apt to be struck by the hammer. If desired a secondstrap 18, anchored to the wrist band 4, can be provided for assisting inholding the finger armor in. place, the outer end of the strap 18 beingriveted or otherwise secured,

as at 19, to the band 2 at its inner end. If this strap 18' and rivet 19are used, it will be noted that the rivet 19 will be located adjacent tothe second knuckle so as to be sufliciently removed from the tip of thefinger to prevent interference or annoyance by the the use of saidrivet.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is l. Afinger armor comprising a stall having a band to embrace the secondphalange, and an extension projecting from the band to receive andprotect the back of the first phalange and providing an opening exposingthe entire face of the first phalange, said band having means to enterthe fold between the first and second phalanges to hold the band inplace.

2. A finger armor comprising a metal stall having a band to embrace thesecond phalange, and an extension of arcuate cross section projectingfrom the band to receive the back of the first phalange, and providingan opening for exposing the entire face of the first phalange, said bandand extension being arranged at an obtuse angle with one another, sothat the tendency to straighten out the finger moves the firstphalangetightly within said extension.

A finger armor comprising a stall having a band to embrace the secondphalange, and an extension projecting from said band to receive andprotect the back of the first p-halange, and providing an openingexposing the entire face of the first p-lialange, the outer end of saidband having a portion bent to enter the fold between the two phalanges.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

NATHANIEL CARR FLEMING. lVitnesses:

N. J. MAsnMonE,

Geo. W. J AUSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each-,by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. G.

